


The Mornings

by backtoblack101



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Morning After
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9620132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtoblack101/pseuds/backtoblack101
Summary: A series of one shots looking at Erin and Holtz's mornings together, starting with their very first morning.





	1. Morning 1

**Author's Note:**

> Will this be chronological? Probably not. Will I update regularly? Who knows, I work long hours, but I promise I'll try. Will I need to add additional tags as I go along and possibly change the rating? Definitely.
> 
> All spelling mistakes are fake news.

Erin woke slowly. There was a dull throbbing in the base of her skull, the faint aftertaste of Jack Daniels staining her taste buds, and a sharp ache in her bladder, demanding she purge her system of last night’s excessive drinking. She ignored it all. Instead she smiled, surprisingly vivid memories of the night before trickling back into her consciousness one by one, getting played back to her on the underside of her closed eyelids like a home movie.

She stretched her weary bones and, almost instantly, the smile fell from her face when her hand made contact with empty mattress next to her. Her eyes snapped open and her hand groped pathetically at thin air.

Fuck.

She sat up and looked around her room. Just as empty as the left side of her bed. She felt her heart drop down to her stomach and a lump grow in her throat as she fought the urge to cry.

After all, this was by no means the first time something like this had happened. In fact Erin had gotten to a point in her adult life when it shocked her more if a man (or woman) she brought home with her did stick around to the following morning, even if it was just to explain to her that while she was nice and all, she was a little too _something_ for them to see again.

The something was never specified.

Everyone always focused on why _they_ wouldn’t work with Erin and not why she wouldn’t work with them. The something was an abstract notion that Erin had determined over the years was probably just a polite way of referring to her general air of awkward anxiety.

She didn’t mind. For the most part she’d just taken these people home to have sex with anyway. She wasn’t stupid. She knew visually she was a catch. Sure, her teens and early twenties had been rough, but once she’d hit thirty it had been hard to miss the way eyes followed her when she put a little effort into her look. Granted she very rarely put this late blooming to use, far more comfortable with a make-up free face and, as of recently, comfy casual wear, but that wasn’t to say she didn’t know the quickest way to get someone’s attention when she went out with the specific goal of finding someone to scratch an itch.

This time was meant to be different though.

This wasn’t some random release of pent up sexual tension.

This was Holtz.

Erin released a slow breath then eased herself out of bed. Regardless of what she was feeling right now she still needed to pee. She slipped into her dressing gown, not bothering with clothes for now, and padded bare foot out of her bedroom.

Her mind was still reeling. She’d really thought something might come of this. Really in her heart of hearts believed that after months of flirting and a few drinks for her to work up the courage to make the first move, her and Holtz might actually go somewhere.

Not necessarily marriage and babies somewhere – though that would be nice – but just anywhere really.

Even a single date would have been nice.

Erin knew deep down she shouldn’t have hopped for that though. Holtz really didn’t seem like a date kind of person. Certainly, didn’t seem like a marriage kind of person. Holtz was Holtz. A free spirit who did what she wanted, consequences be damned.

In hindsight Erin found the thought of Holtz sticking around almost laughable.

Her brilliance tied down by Erin’s insecurity. Her laid-back approach to the world shit on by Erin’s anxiety. Not to mention her other offers. Erin wasn’t blind. She saw the steady stream of girls that approached Holtz after busts or when they went on a night out together. Jesus she’d even seen a girl trying to give Holtz her number _during_ a bust once. Sure, Holtz said no, but Erin knew deep down there were girls giving her their number when Erin wasn’t around that she didn’t turn away.

Realistically Erin should probably count herself lucky she was even considered worthy of a one night stand.

That was another entirely depressing rabbit hole though, and one that Erin was ready to jump head first into until her bathroom door swung open, pulling her abruptly from her thoughts.

“Oh! Er, there you are, I was just coming to ask about the loan of a toothbrush! You okay? You look kinda bummed out?” There was Holtzmann, standing in front of her in nothing but a pair of boxers and one of Erin’s old MIT t-shirts, talking a mile a minute, and Erin couldn’t quite comprehend it. “I mean it is pretty early I guess, and I know you were up all night, if you know what I mean…” She laughed at her own joke and Erin couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“I just… I just need to pee…” She wasn’t about to tell Holtz the overtime her brain had been working for the past… three and a half minutes.

“Ah, well I suppose you should come right this way then.” Holtz gestured into the bathroom, though much to Erin’s surprise she didn’t step out of the way to let Erin past. Instead she stepped back into the bathroom and waited for Erin to join her.

“Are you not…” The end of Erin’s sentence fell flat while Holtz watched her expectantly.

“What?” Holtz waited another second then seemed to realise what Erin meant. “Oh! Oh, c’mon Gilbert, I’ve seen you naked, covered in slime, and that one time you had the flu and sneezed and snot came out.”

Erin grimaced at that particular memory.

“After all that there’s no big deal with two gals being in the bathroom while one pees and the other brushes her teeth.” Holtz shrugged. “Unless you’re uncomfortable with it.”

“No I …” Erin sighed. “Just not used to people this laid back.” She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. “What?” She shrugged, “it’s manners to shut it, even if the only two people in the house happen to be in the bathroom together.”

“You’re adorable Gilbert.” Holtz had a smile that Erin estimated could light up the entire tri-state area. “I’d totally be kissing you right now if I didn’t have morning breath.” Erin blushed. “Oh, which reminds me, toothbrush?”

Erin pointed to the mirror cabinet. “In there.”

Holtz saluted her and began rummaging for a toothbrush. Erin eyed the toilet for a second then sat down and began to pee. All things considered she was still a little overwhelmed.

Holtz was here.

Holtz was still actually here, in Erin’s bathroom, brushing her teeth and humming something that sounded like it was from the Avenue Q Soundtrack. Erin watched her intently, long after she was done peeing. This woman, this incredible woman, not only stayed the night, but looked to be willing to stay well into the morning.

“So anyway,” Holtz said all of a sudden, eying Erin through the bathroom mirror, just having spat out the last of her toothpaste. “I was thinking we have the day off. We go to the park. Or that coffee shop you like. Oh! Or you were talking a few weeks ago about wanting to check that new exhibit?”

This woman, this incredible, smart, funny, beautiful woman, remembered a throwaway comment about a new science exhibit Erin made well over a month ago. Erin wanted to thank her. Wanted to jump up and hug her or kiss her or do both.

Instead all she managed was “you stayed?”

“Huh?” Holtz spun around, toothpaste residue still smeared across her lips.

“I mean,” Erin stuttered, a blush staining her cheeks. “You didn’t… Didn’t leave this morning.”

“Well no, like I said, I’ve a tonne of cool date ideas considering we only take like one day off per week, if even,” Holtz reiterated, completely oblivious to Erin’s insecurities. “I mean if I left then I wouldn’t see you until we were back at work and then we’re just working so there’s _far_ less room for fun and flirting, not that I don’t – “

“No Holtz,” Erin interrupted. “I mean…” She was embarrassed, without a doubt. She also wanted Holtz to know though, know just how much this meant to her. “I mean you didn’t run off this morning. I mean you stuck around even though….” she paused. “Even though so many other people don’t want to stick around because of the kind of person I am.”

Holtzmann didn’t respond immediately to this. In fact there was a solid minute with Erin still sitting on the toilet and Holtz still holding the spare toothbrush in her hand that was completely, awkwardly silent. Then, eventually, Holtz seemed to regain her voice.

“You can call me Jillian.”

“What?” It was by no means what Erin had been expecting.

“You can call me Jillian,” Holtz repeated. “And you can forget about the idea that I’m _ever_ going to bail on you because of who you are.”

“Really?”

“Of course really.” Holtz looked appalled at the question. “As if I’m going to skip out on the hottest, smartest, and cutest theoretical physicist I’ve ever met.”

“Do hot and cute not mean the same thing, really?” Erin pointed, trying her best to deflect from the real weight behind the statement.

“Gilbert, come one,” Holtz scoffed. “Hot refers to what I can see right now.” She gave Erin a deliberate once over. “Cute refers to those finger guns you do when I give you my lunch order.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Says the lady sitting half naked on the toilet with someone she’s only slept with once,” Holtz shot back without missing a beat.

“Hey! You said it wasn’t a big deal!” Erin attempted a steely façade, but Holtzmann’s goofy grin broke her in seconds.

“Honestly, so adorable,” was all Holtz said before leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss into the corner of Erin’s lips. “Now, how does coffee shop then science exhibit sound?”

“Tempting…” Erin admitted slowly, still savouring the minty aftertaste on her lips. “But how about we do that later, and for now….” She trailed off suggestively, smiling when Holtz’s eyes lit up.

“My, my, Dr. Gilbert. Lead the way.”


	2. Morning 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well didn't I have the best intentions of updating this regularly before life got in the way. Anyway, today's my first proper day off in over a month so I figure now's as good a time as any to revive this from the depths of despair and writers block.
> 
> Also the apartment I'm basing this chapter on is from a youtube video that I watched. The image of Holtz creating a tiny, industrial, cramped nest like space for herself is just one that fills me with so much joy. Anyway here's the video if you wanna check it out, give you some vague notion of what the fuck I'm trying to describe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJkBlqLJLWA

“Ow, fuck.”

“Mfff.”

“Hotlz.”

“Mfff.”

 “Holtz.”

“Mfff.”

 “Jillian!”

“Wha’?”

Erin sank back down onto the mattress, still rubbing her elbow.

“I need to pee.” Erin turned to face her bed partner, the early morning light being cast through the basement windows just barely illuminating an ill-kept main of golden blonde hair.

“But I’m so comfy,” came the barely audible reply, mumbled into a mound of pillows.

“And yet you insisted on sleeping on the side of the bed next to the ladder.” Erin’s elbow still hurt, and according to the LED clock on the wall at the opposite end of the room it was barely five am. To say she was getting a little agitated at this point may have been an understatement.

“Crawl over me?”

Erin huffed, half expecting Holtz to take her obvious non-verbal indignation as a sign to come up with a more appealing solution. Still the younger woman didn’t move and so eventually Erin took her advice, crawling over her slight frame, careful not to stick her knees anywhere she suspected may be limb rather than duvet.

She clambered down the bunk-bed-esque ladder into what she supposed was the mezzanine level of Holtz’s apartment, careful not to hit her head on the low ceiling, then down another short staircase to the kitchen/work area.

When Jillian had explained to her that she lived in a small space Erin had always imagined a typically cramped New York apartment. Nothing, however, had prepared her for the size of the apartment she had stepped into the previous afternoon, when the pair had realised they would be paying double for an uber back to Erin’s spacious condo, versus returning to Holtz’s.

Erin understood now why this was her first time back at the other woman’s place.

She picked her way through Holtz’s ‘out of hours’ work station – so called because, in spite of the weeks’ worth of found scrap materials lying around, Hotlz insisted she only used this space when too lazy to head across town to the fire station – and towards the bathroom which was hid behind the miniscule kitchen area.

She was careful to duck on her way into the room, Holtz having decided that instead of adequate door space in the bathroom she would opt instead for a small storage loft above the door. Which was perfectly fine when you were 5’4”, not so much when you stood at 5’7”. Still though, the bathroom itself was impressively sized, much akin to something you would find in any normal ‘on a budget’ Manhattan loft spaces. In fact Erin quite liked the bathroom. The only space in the house that didn’t have quite as much of an industrial feel. She admired the simple tile work and mosaic window while she went about her business, and was careful to crouch once again on her way out of the room.

Holtz was sitting up when Erin re-emerged into the main space, still looking adorably sleepy and dishevelled, but smiling none the less.

“Congrats,” Hotlz said simply, when Erin looked up at her.

“Sorry?”

“Congrats,” she repeated, smiling more now as she enjoyed Erin’s confusion.

“On…?” Erin prompted, stepping back across the kitchen space and up a step to the mezzanine level, which left her almost at eye level with Holtz.

“You didn’t hit your head on the bathroom door.” She pointed out, shifting to the far side of the bed as she spoke to allow Erin to climb more easily back into bed. “Everyone hits their head on the bathroom door.”

“Yea well, still managed to hit my elbow on the damn wall,” Erin huffed, the indignation in her tone undermined somewhat when she immediately curled into Holtz’s side once back in bed.

“I did warn you this place is a death trap if you're not used to it.” Holtz placed a kiss on Erin’s hairline.

“Yea but I kinda just presumed you meant volatile nuclear waste and untested weaponised machinery… not a multi-level matchbox apartment.”

“Well I’m sure I’ve some of that stuff lying around too…” Holtz offered teasingly, though Erin knew fine well she’d probably walked past at least four devices capable of killing her on her quick journey to the bathroom alone. “Admit it though, it’s kinda cute.”

Erin took in her surroundings slowly. She wondered how Holtzmann ever managed to keep the clutter under control. Already parts of the blonde had started spilling over into Erin’s apartment. A toothbrush in the bathroom, a pair of socks in the laundry, machine parts on her coffee table, and her apartment was easily 600 square feet larger. Still though, it felt like Holtzmann. The industrial vibe, the minimalist living, the easily distinguishable scrap yard material appliances, the odd bursts of colour.

“It is, yea…” Erin replied eventually. “I mean I don’t know if I could live here…” She didn’t even realise what she said until she felt Holtz go very still beside her. “I mean just – if I were to – what I mean is more…”

“Erin…” Holtz put her hand on the brunette’s cheek and tilted her head up until their eyes met. “Don’t worry. I don’t think that after less than two months of dating you’re already propositioning me to move in with you, and I’m not asking you to move in with me.” She smiled. “Yet.”

_Yet._

Erin’s heart fluttered and the embarrassment over what she’d just said began to fade. “Well…” She smiled, small and shy. “For the record, when you do ask we’re going to need somewhere with more head space.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm.” Erin nodded slowly, her smile growing more confident. “Straddling you,” she explained, throwing one leg over Holtz’s waist while she spoke. “Is far too challenging...” She repositioned herself, her knees either side of Holtzmanns hips, and her hands bracketing the blonde’s head. “With such a low ceiling.” She hovered over Holtzmann for a few seconds, watching her pupils dilate and her lips twitch upwards into a smile. Then she leaned in and kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why Erin's always peeing in these stories either... Is pee an important theme? Does it mean something more? Do I need to pee whenever I'm writing? Who knows.
> 
> Lemme know what you thought, about all the peeing and everything else as well I guess.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked it, let me know! If you didn't like it, let me know! Constructive criticism kills me inside, but I guess it's all character building or w/e.


End file.
